Welcome to the Atlas

The project was born from the purchasing of an ex-military area in the Flaminio neighbourhood and the decision to build a city of science with a museum, a public park and residential areas that will have green roofs and sustainable, energy-efficient building. The project was proposed to several architectural studios and the Studio 015 Paola Viganò is the one who got assigned the project in 2015 (3).
Due to changes in public administration and financing already found in 2017 (7), the project still has not started (2020), as in 2019 the citizens were once again consulted over the works and the project (7). Initially, the project should end in 2023 (should last 8 years) (4).

The restructuring of the main road Gran Via Fernando el Catolico has seen a rehabilitation of its green areas in two distinct plots: one occurring at its intersection with Calle Lagasca, and one at its intersection with Corona de Aragon. The intervention is connected to relieving the heat island effect that occurs in the city center, increase greenery with the planting of 114 new trees and making the main traffic artery more accessible and pleasant to pedestrians. (Ref. 1-5)

The project aimed to tackle two environmental problems through an integrated policy: climate change (both the mitigation and adaptation effects of urban forestation) and air quality. The project foresaw the dissemination of public-private partnership tools, developed within the framework of corporate social responsibility experiences, and the distribution of specific guidelines. Specifically, the project planned to develop a public-private partnership model for urban forestation through the adoption of the ‘green areas inner-city agreement’ (GAIA). This was expected to include three specific protocols for green urban areas covering management, monitoring and mapping resulting in 3000 trees planted across Bologna (1).

In 2014, students, instructors and representatives of an appropriate company built a "small green roof" on the balcony above the entrance to the Department of Architecture at the Bialystok University of Technology. The initiative was a part of the "Green City by nature" project - a nationwide educational campaign about nature-based urban solutions. It took only 5 hours to unfold the roll of grass and prepare the ground for all year thuja and vines [1,2].

A multi-purpose green belt (12 km in length of Batticaloa Municipal Corporation coast) was established to protect the lagoon and coastal areas, restore mangrove ecosystems and improve coastal biodiversity. The project comes under activity 1.3 of the overarching project Climate Resilient Action Plans for Coastal Urban Areas in Sri Lanka (CCSL). The project focuses on the most urgent and immediate needs of the Sri Lankan coastal cities in adapting to climate change, and mitigating risks and the severity of impacts through Disaster Risk Management (DRM). The green belt plantation was done with Casuarinas plantation in 400 ha (out of which 75% by Mandru and 25% by the Forest Department), mangrove forest redesigning and protection of the existing vegetation. [1, 2, 6]

Medellin is the second-largest city in Colombia. The city used to be one of the most dangerous in the world, as Pablo Escobar founded here the Medellin cartel. After the death of Escobar, the city's homicide rate has decreased by 95% and extreme poverty by 66%, thanks in part to a string of innovative mayors who laid out plans to integrate the poorest and most violent hillside neighbourhoods into the city centre in the valley below. The same innovative mayors realised that Columbia and its cities are very vulnerable to climate change being located in a tropical zone and is influenced by El Niño and the La Niña. In Medellin, the municipality has built upon a tradition of planning to become an urban lab for the construction of public life with the aim of inclusive, peaceful and sustainable development. As such starting in 2008 Medellin began implementing a green strategy whose goal was the creation of a green belt around the city as well as waste control. The intervention discussed in this case is one initiated in 2014 when the municipality carried out planting and reforestation projects for the protection of the eastern slopes of the city. (1,2,3)

The green belt was created not only as an aesthetic element but also to serve as the lungs of the city. The forest planting works around Nur-Sultan have been carried out since 1997 [6, 7]. The area of ​​the green belt of Nur-Sultan is 100 thousand hectares, of which 15 thousand hectares are planted within the city limits. The main idea of the project was to provide comfortable conditions for the residents of Nur-Sultan city, which would serve as a mechanism for improving air quality, mitigating climate and as a natural barrier to protect the city from dust winds and snowstorms [2, 4, 5, 6, 7]. An important aspect that was taken into consideration are the animal species of the forest, as the territory of the green belt is inhabited by foxes, hares, corsacs, white and grey partridges, roe deer, wild boars, etc [1, 2, 7, 8]. The primary importance of biodiversity efforts is assigned to the breeding of birds, especially pheasants [1, 2, 3, 4, 5], as pheasants are an element of local cultural heritage, and on the territory of the green belt, traditions and cultural events related with the pheasants are organised every year [2, 4]. The young forest should turn into an improved recreation area, a favourite pastime for city residents at any time of the year [2,7].

The Green Bridge at the D2 motorway in Moravian Svätý Ján (Dúbrava locality) is a project under the Alpine Carpathian Corridor Project (ERDF). The project deals with biodiversity and is focused on building a safe and efficient passage for migrating animals over the D2 motorway connecting Bratislava and Brno (Czech Republic). The mountain ranges of the Alps and the Carpathians, which straddle the border of Austria and Slovakia, are the largest sources of biodiversity in Central Europe. The Corridor’s structure has created a forum for the managers of these regions to share ideas and develop solutions that can be applied within the entire region, instead of only per protected area. To ensure long-term continuity, key stakeholders are party to a Memorandum of Understanding that can contribute to sustainability in their area of responsibility. (1, 5, 6)

"Grünes" C is an initiative of six municipalities (Alfter, Bonn, Bornheim, Niederkassel, Sankt Augustin and Troisdorf) to secure, connect and (re)develop open and recreational spaces (agricultural, cultivated, garden, commercial landscapes, protected nature areas, rivers, transport routes). The major objective is to create an accessible, united park landscape in the original area of the "Grünes C" which spans 37 square kilometres to preserve those landscapes facing urban pressure. This is envisioned through a set of interventions initiated in and around the participating municipalities. Bonn has three interventions that will be dealt with here (3,4,5,9)

Numerous developments have been carried out at the National Veterinary School of Toulouse's (ENVT) green campus to make the site more conducive to the maintenance and development of biodiversity as result of the school's "VERT VET" (GREEN VET) club (Ref. 2). The green changes began as a result of the school's 2008 sustainable development policy (Ref. 1). Among its many functions and activities, the policy helped raise awareness, clean ponds, and a well, construct a vegetable garden and make beehives and bird nest boxes in the campus's two classified forests (Ref. 3).